The week in Jewish sports
(Statistics as of Jan. 11)
Top of the week: Washington Capitals left winger Andre Burakovsky is now a footnote to history. He had an assist — his second of the game — on Alex Ovechkin’s 500th NHL goal on Jan. 10 in a 7-1 win over the visiting Ottawa Senators. Ovechkin becomes the first Russian-born player to achieve the mark and the 43rd overall. Gal Mekel, who had a brief stint in the NBA, agreed to a three-and-a-half-year deal to return to Maccabi Tel Aviv. He replaces another Jewish former NBA player in Jordan Farmar, who left the team after an unsuccessful stint…. Two fans of the Southampton soccer club were banned from attending English Premier League games for three years for making “fascist salutes” and “racist gestures” at Jewish fans during a Dec. 19 match…. Tunisian Jews called on their government to discipline the president of a soccer club who is accused of making an anti-Semitic slur against a Jewish referee on Dec. 28.
Best of the rest: The NJ Devils placed left winger Michael Cammalleri on the injury reserve list after he missed several games with an “upper body injury”…. Pittsburgh Penguin defenseman David Warofsky has also missed a number of games over the past week…. Spring training begins in just over five weeks. Still without a “home” for the new season: first baseman Ike Davis and reliever Craig Breslow…. Birthday greetings: Jason Zucker, Minnesota Wild (NHL), turns 24 on Jan. 16; Cody Decker, who recently signed a minor-league contract with the Kansas City Royals, turns 29 on Jan. 17; Benny Feilhaber, Sporting KC (MLS), turns 31 on Jan. 19…. On this date: In 1942, the Boston Red Sox gave catcher Moe Berg his unconditional release so he would be able to accept a government appointment as goodwill ambassador to Latin America.
Sources: JTA, Jerusalem Post, Day by Day in Jewish Sports History
For the latest news on Jewish Sports, visit Kaplan’s Korner on Jews and Sports.
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